Thursday, December 10, 2009

Puttin' on the Parecio

I stripped down the boats for the rains a few days ago, so when I showed up today for my cruise, I had to do a bit more preparation.
Naked gondolas.

Parecio on the wall.

In a short time the Phoenix was dressed and ready to go.
Phoenix on the right, dressed and waiting.

Complete with boarding carpet.

Under way, we enjoyed colorful sunset skies and calm conditions.
Photo from the poppa.

Christmas lights have been popping up around the harbor, a nice treat this time of year.
I love my job. You won't get this view from a cubicle.
After the cruise, I removed the parecio again, because more rain was on the way.

3 comments:

Tamas Feher from Hungary said...

The stepping carpet with its orange skyline looks really dramatic!

Tamas Feher from Hungary said...

BTW, have you considered building a pen for the gondolas, at least the genuine venetian ones? Maybe with a dual purpose, where clients can sit down for a minute as they arrive.

If not against the rare rainy day but for the strong sunlight and high temperatures that may be shortening the boats' lifecycle.

Of course a luxury garage may be too much pampering for vessels, originally built to tolerate open-air storage (and there are the economics considerations).

Gondola Greg said...

While I would love to have a setup for mooring which more accurately mirrors a servizio in Venice, we work with what's available.
Right now the slip approach that is so common in the US works, with a few adjustments. Angelino in Oakland, California used to have the traditional bare-wood paline in his docking area, it was a great look and worked well. I haven't been there in a long time though so I don't know if he still has them.
A boathouse would be great, for sure. We have a nice big one at our Irving, Texas location where things aren't as compact.
You know what they say about Texas: "everything's bigger in Texas"...including the hailstones!